Recall your worst DRM related problem

[Something Amyss]

Back when starforce DRM was used widely it caused no end of problems for me and others. It would start disabling shit on your computer like if you had 2 CD drivs (which was very common at the time) it would disable one as it assumed you were pirating stuff illegally. Same for certain software packages.
It was also known to weaken OS stability and when several reporters called them out for it they threatened to sue and involve the FBI. Pretty pathetic.

Not game related, but back when they first started doing copy-protected CDs and most of them still weren't listed as copy-protected, the software Sony was using didn't just prevent me from copying the disc, it would crash my computer. And here I'd hooked my computer into my entertainment center so I could play discs on it.

But you know, we're all criminals dammit.

Microsoft's DRM for the 360 was really annoying before license transfers. Since you were likely to get a Red Ring and need to send it in, getting a replacement meant you had to be connected to the internet to verify. Which is great, unless you have Comcast in a rural area.

And that's before you had to download "bonus" content like the big guys are doing locking this crap out for used players.

 

[Kevlar Eater]

I bought Crysis 2 via Amazon Downloader (since it was cheaper than Origin). I was given a key, and Origin auto-updated when I clicked into it. When I put the key in, Origin wouldn't accept it.

Tried the key two days and a lot of venting later, it worked.

 

[zfactor]

One of the Ranbow Six games made my computer unbootable because of some DRM in it... It put some extra driver in the windows directory that was "unsigned" (whatever that means...), so it would crash on boot... Solution was simple though, just button-mash F8 on startup and tell it to load unsigned drivers.

Either that or Battlefield 2142, which now does not load because of a "conflict with emulation software." Which is weird because I have the disk in the CD drive...

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

I'd say my worst problem is fairly common. More than once I've tried to play a game only to find that the DRM will not allow it. Starforce (if memory served) simply caused games that used it to crash instantly and I was forced to find a crack for no reason other than because I wanted to play the game I paid someone money so that I might do so legally.

 

[Lizardon]

I had Batman Arkham Asylum on PC and had to use Games for Windows Live to run it. The game installed fine, I went to play and was told there was an update for Arkham Asylum, so I let GFWL download the update and restart. Then the same message came up saying there was an update. This repeated several times. GFWL wouldn't update the game and because of that it wouldn't let me play it until the patch was installed.

Luckily I was able to download the patch and install it manually from someone who had uploaded it.

 

[Ken Reese]

Spore: The Nightmare
I was stoked about Spore for years, I purchased the pre release and was excited because it released when I had taken 2 weeks off to move so I could play it till 3 am every day. I get done moving and unpacking and go to install but had some problems because the wires in our new place were ancient and Comcast neglected to test the data fidelity when they set me up. Next day the tech comes and lays new coaxe and I go to install again. Guess what? Even though the connection was too poor to finish the install it was perfectly fine as far as burning through my installs.
I had the game for 4 days and it was dead. I called the company and basically got the "tough shit" line (never mind the person could see that I burned my installs in less the 1 hour from the same PC at the same location.)
The worst part is since I had pre purchased I had no store that I could return it to and absolutely no recourse. Way to treat a guy who had bank rolled you by paying for a game months before I could even play it.

Gears of War which worked great until about a year later when I started getting nostalgic about it and tried to re install. Yeah, that didn't work to well. I was told that my game that I purchased for 59,99 was EXPIRED! Who the fuck does a game expire?!?? I read the case from top to bottom and then had my son look it over and there was no mention of a time limit.
What pisses me off the most is I played by the rules and got screwed hard.

RUSE: OMFG, who ever came up with the idea of "always on DRM" should (insert horrible fate here) I will never by another Ubiesoft game again. At least Target took the game back

My son had 2 games (can't remember what they were) that freaked out because I have 2 DVD drivers. Both went back to the store, There is simply no way Im going to dis connect a drive for a game.

So yes DRM DOES screw over good paying customers pretty hard.

On the plus side my family spends WAY more money on indie games, Natural Selection 2 and Minecraft both have 3 separate installs in my house. I willing to spend quite a bit of money supporting companies that don't treat their costumers like petty thiefs.

 

[Aris Khandr]

My XBox account got accessed by someone who wasn't me around the 1st of the year. I immediately contacted Microsoft about it. They locked my account down, but told me offline play wouldn't be effected. They said it would take 3-6 weeks.

It's April. My account is still on lockdown. All my GFWL games on Steam? Can't play them, even in single player.

I don't really mind DRM. I get that they need to protect their products as best they can. But four months is not the same as 3-6 weeks.

 

[Tayh]

Internet is down, unknown problem with the ISP.
Start up Fallout:New Vegas.
Can't connect to steam.
Activate offline mode.
Error, requires internet connection to activate offline mode.

-later-

Start up FO:NV.
Wait 20 minutes for forced patching.
Patch broke several mods I had installed.
Wait days/weeks for mods to be updated to the new patch.

 

[Poetic Nova]

Half Life 2 in '04, the game crashed everytime my internet went down.